I'd mention that I'd been “that guy with the paper book” at times in the comments on a blog post about changes in publishing. A fellow going by the name of FlyingMike then came up with this exchange, which I find amusing:

“Did you see that Minotaur in 21B?”“Don’t be specist. He fits in the seat so he can ride to Phoenix.”“No, he’s reading a paperback – I mean, on real paper!”“What?! I gotta go see this!”

I'm not nearly as big as he is. Also, I tend to do the delivering rather than have things delivered to me. I seem to have inspired, entirely by accident, a piece of a story. Go have a look at Story Bit: Sharp Dealings by Alma T.C. Boykin (aka TXRed). Poke around the site a bit for more story snippets and if you like, perhaps check out the A Cat Among Dragons books.

Back in 2007 I went to LibertyCon in Chattanooga, TN and did a number of deliveries. ACME had not been back there until this year, but, well, things didn't go as planned for me. ACME was there, but I really wasn't. The weather and other things disagreed with me, and let's just say that I was stuck in the hotel room for the weekend and didn't get out at all.

Deliveries still went on, though not as numerous as in 2007. Some human did them, and they were generally well received, I am told. I've also been informed that John Ringo can really ham things up - as if that's any news.

Once home again, I tried to check on how things went without me. Generally no news is good news - no complaints. There was one mention, and it was positive, from author Sarah Hoyt. She liked the stuffed "sad" puppy that was delivered to her. In a reply to her blog entry that mentioned it, someone politely explained my absence. And then this stunning reply happened:

accordingtohoyt: Sigh. I LIKE the ox. (He shall appear in the next shifter book.)

I have no idea of when this book will appear, what the title will be, or anything else. Just that one line is all I know about it. I imagine any appearance I have, if it survives editor(s), will be a very minor thing. Still, I am most pleasantly surprised by this. You can bet I'll be buying that book. I hope I get to deliver something to Sarah Hoyt again - and get the book signed.

[ADDENDUM]: The title will be "Bowl of Red" and it should appear at the end of the year or early next.

No real information yet, list a shipping manifest or anything, but it looks like I get to go to Penguicon once again. I wonder what all I'll be delivering this time, and who will get whatever it all might be.

The icon is a new one, or at least I do not recall having used it yet. Some company (not ACME) was making those for the 'Year of the Ox' and it seemed to fit. I cannot afford the actual item, but I can make a nice little icon from a picture of it. I might as well use it before the 'Year of the Ox' is over.

I would also like to point out that while I have an entry on WikiFur and the place has no policy against editing or even creating one's own entry, I do not edit it at all. It seems a bit too much of "tooting one's own horn(s)" - or maybe I'm a just a bit 'old school' about some things.

Nope, no MFF for this ox this year. What reservations there were have been cancelled. Oddly, I will have the extended weekend (Friday-Monday) off but it doesn't help enough as I just can't go on my own. I suppose it's meant as a consolation and I don't mind the time off, but it feels a bit like rubbing it in.

At least I have heard things might be picking up and not just for the holiday rush. It looks like I might make Penguicon again next year, though RCFM might be a bit dubious.

I've been asked about, and heard comments about, my supposed lack of.. shall we say, reproductive ability. People get confused by my name, it seems. Rather than try to explain, yet again, the actual situation, I've been considering a means to bypass that nonsense.

I can't do much when on the clock, but off the clock, especially at conventions, I could wear a button or some such. I don't want to be too blatant, but still get the message across. "Fully functional" seems to be something that would be well recognized. Though I cannot help but wonder if that would be seen as a crass come-on.

A mountain ox? I suppose some oxen do live on or around mountains. But strangle? Why? That Megan Fox has replied that, "of course, anything I can do to save the mountain ox, I’m happy to do,” eases things a bit.

I'm not down, or any other direction, with the strangling thing. And if it's been misheard and misreported and that was "mount an ox" or something related, well now. If they're[1] willing to date outside their species, I'm willing to date outside mine. For the good of my kind, of course. If they want to go to a mountain location, well, why not? Just, no strangling, thanks.

It's not a big, huge pile, but it is there and almost complete. All but three or four items for RCFM are ready to go. There are not as many items as for Penguicon (whew!) and not many big ones, either. A few items are quite small, too.

I have yet to see any photos of the deliveries at the wedding at Penguicon or of the delivery at Opening Ceremonies. There likely weren't that many folks carrying cameras at the wedding and I understand a wedding photographer skipping a delivery even as odd as it might be (or just not having a decent view for a photo), but nothing from opening ceremonies? That's a surprise. I don't expect to see much of myself, but, well, were folks too busy picking their jaws up off of the floor to take pictures of that tigress?It's always weird using a strange vehicle. I have a different delivery vehicle for a couple days and I'll probably be used to it about time to be rid of it. The big problem is that it's a shared vehicle so no personal anything gets left in it. And the radio will always be too loud and poorly set when I start out. I just shut the thing off rather than fiddle with it.

I've been quite busy both during and since Penguicon and I had a good time at Penguicon, don't get me wrong. But something has been bugging me, again.

At Penguicon I am often mistaken for another species. Not just one, either, but it seems I wind up being considered a yak, a gnu, or even a moose.

As Penguicon is at least partly about Linux and the GNU folks try to claim that as their own and there is a lot of GNU software out, being mistaken for a gnu at Penguicon at least makes some form of sense. I don't think I look anything like a gnu other than "creature with two horns" but how often have most folks seen either an ox or a gnu? And often, later at night, sobriety is, shall we say, a dubious assumption. I am not a gnu.

I've been called a yak several times. Where this reaches the web, I try to leave a comment to correct this assumption. At least a yak is bovine, but that's as close as it gets. I am not a yak, either.

The truly weird one is when someone claims I'm a moose. Do my horns look anything like antlers? Have these folks never seen Bullwinkle? Just to be absolutely clear, I am not a moose, either.

Also, I was asked (as politely as such a thing can be, at least) whether I was a bull or a steer! I assure folks that I am indeed a bull. Ox means educated, not abbreviated. I was at least polite enough to refrain from suggesting a direct personal demonstration of this fact, though the idea does have some appeal.

Such assumptions and questions. I suppose if I were to get a nose-ring that these assumptions and questions might decrease. But then I might also be considered an escapee from some video game, a Tauren or a Tauren wannabe. Also, would YOU wear oversize jewelry meant to let others control you? Oh sure, it depends on which others, you say with a wink and a smirk, but the way things seem to work, the fantasy doesn't happen and the nightmare does.

I know many folks are oddly leery of deliveries from ACME, but most of the time it's not only no big deal but welcome and even amusing. Most of the time. I have delivered a few unwelcome items, from rigged seltzer bottles and spring-loaded pies to explosive items.

Right now I am wondering if I'll be handling something. I don't know what. See, when a door is locked, cackling laughter emanates from the room, and the only intelligible words are "Ain't I a stinker?" something is most certainly up. I just wish I knew what it is.

I hope to have most, if not all, deliveries done at Penguicon. Then I can relax and enjoy myself without worrying about things much.

This week will seem both fast and slow, I expect. Fast as in "Is everything ready? Sure about that?" and slow as in "Is it time to go yet?"

I have a few discretionary deliveries this time (I get to pick the recipient[s]... a bit of ACME advertising/promotion, really) and a few informal items. I know where most of those will go, just not sure of when.